Milk supply running out - HELP!!

[Kerrie Hughes]

I am not sure what has happened but yesterday at the 4pm feed I just didn't seem to have enough milk to satisfy my LO, Fin. My breasts felt really empty and he wasn't gulping it down as he usually does. My breasts have continued to feel saggy and empty since. Fin has BF okay this morning but it still doesn't seem to be as usual. He seems to be taking less and getting frustrated at the boob. However, he has lasted his usual 3 to 31/2 hours between feeds. That is until now.

I fed him at 4 as usual and he had some but I didn't feel he'd had enough. Sure enough at 5.30 he was ravenous. I was putting him down for his catnap and he began sucking on my chin. I tried to feed him but I just didn't seem to have the milk. He kept coming off and crying. Getting frustrated. In the end I gave up and gave him a  bottle.

Fin is 15 weeks and weighs around 15lb. He is BF but has a supplementary feed at 7pm - has done for a while now.  Fin has been ill for with a cold since Saturday but I hadn't noticed any difference with feeds. But could this have something to do with it?

I have been pumping after the feeds, not a lot comes out. How long should I pump to increase supply.

ARRGH - BF is so hard, I seem to have struggled the whole way. I really thought that at 15 weeks things would have settled down and there would be no worries.

Any insight and advice will be gratefully received.

One frustrated mama x

[Eden's Mum]

Wow. That all sounds realll hard. I don't know how much help i can be. The idea of course is that the more you feed the more mik you should have. Are you feeding on demand or to a routine? If you are on a routine it might be wise to go backt o demand for a while until you feel your supply has stregthened. If you are supplimenting at 7pm do you express then? If not it might be a good idea to,in order to keep everything going. Does your lo go through the night? When is the next feed ususally after 7pm? if it is a long time, sometimes people say they find the milk dries up a bit once the nights have less feeds, but it isn't insurmountable.

Try making sure taht you drink plenty, eat plenty and rest enough throughout the day. if you are not looking after yourslef that canbe part of it. Also if you are getting stressed about how challenging everything is, that can effect your supply. Fennel tea is supposed to be good for boosting your supply.

Don't worry abotu not gettign much off after a feed when you express as if he has drained you taht is to be expected. the best time to express to get plenty off is first thing in the morning after you have fed as you should be fuller then. Try expressing in between feeds for a while until your supply increases and give the expressed milk after a breast feed when lo feels hungry still. What ever you do don't give formula if you are trying to increase your supply as lo won't be hungry when you need him to be if you are trying to get more milk.

You could try seeing a lactation consulatant too.

Hope some of this helps.

good luck.

[daisymelan]

That's great advice, a couple other things.

{{hugs}}

Is it possible that your little sweetie is going through a growth spurt.  I'm pretty sure there's one right around there. 

Pumping after you feed is great.  I think the suggested amount of time is 15 minutes.  It doesn't matter if you are getting anything, it's sending a signal to your brain to produce more.

It seems silly to say, but make sure you are drinking lots of water and are getting plenty of rest. 

And trust me, it is only going to get easier from here on in.  Keep up with the bfing and I'm certain very shortly you are going to wonder why mamas go to all the work of doing up bottles.  Bfing just seems so much easier to me now.

I always feel deflated now.  I never really felt full, but I did notice around the 4 month mark that I was always deflated.  lol  It's quite common for women to stop feeling full.  Don't stress that one bit, that's common.

Try not to supplement with a bottle, that is only going to diminish your supply.  Make sure the bottle nipple you are using is slow flow so he has to work hard to get that milk out.... or else he may get lazy and not want to work when he nurses.  If he gets hungry again, offer to bf.  It may encourage snacking, but it's better then supplementing with a bottle.  You can eventually stretch things back out if he becomes a snacker.

Hope this helps.

Hugs again.

[kim&savannah]

You've gotten great advice.  That time of day is when your milk supply will naturally be lower anyway, and as your body has gotten used to it, you will feel less full all the time.  I would keep trying to feed him to stimulate your body to make more--do you cluster feed in the afternoon/evening?  That seemed to help me up my supply at that time of day--I think at that age, I would feed her every 1.5-2 hours from her pm nap on, so it squeezes in one extra feeding.  And if it is a growth spurt, everything will adjust soon.

~Kim

[Samuel's mum]

Totally agree with great previous advice.

That is a common time of day for supply to dip.

It could well be a growth spurt - come off routine if you need to build up your supply. If you supplement through a growth spurt your supply may never catch up.

Don't expect to feel full. Pumping will not produce the same amount he gets.

Have you changed anything such as started to take a contraceptive pill, started any medication? If the answer is no then following all the above advice from everybody really should make a difference. Phone a helpine if you remain worried.

You should know it is very very rare for women to not be able to make enough milk. A common scenario is a mum becoming worried as her breasts change around 3-4 months or sticking too closely to a routine, starting to supplement and then gradually supplementing more and more.

[First Time Mom]

We seemed to go through this a few days back- felt "empty" and dd fussed, especially on the left side so she wouldn't feed long on the left side. What I did (and it seems to have made a difference) is when I fed her on the left I would then switch to the right and when she was done I would put her back on the left side for as long as she would (10 min or so). I don't think she was actually taking much on the left again but it seemed to have stimulated the left side to make more.